


What Would I Be

by Crookes



Category: The Last Kingdom (TV), The Warrior Chronicles | The Saxon Stories - Bernard Cornwell
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Uhtred does not process his emotions in a healthy way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crookes/pseuds/Crookes
Summary: Three days and no word. Finan is missing.
Relationships: Finan/Uhtred of Bebbanburg
Comments: 18
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of those fics where I had a really specific scene in my head and then I had the nightmare of trying to build an actual plot around it and this is the somewhat dubious result. 
> 
> Title from 'Sick of losing soulmates' by dodie which I may have listened to a lot writing this.

Three days. It had been _three days_ already. Three days with no word from Finan and Berg since Uhtred had sent them on what should have been an easy scouting mission.

They had been tracking the progress of a band of Danes for almost a fortnight now, it didn’t seem to be a large band of warriors but they had been raiding into Mercia consistently and causing problems so here Uhtred was to deal with them.

After their third failed attempt to cut the Dane’s off, Uhtred had sent Finan and Berg ahead to scout where the Danes were camping. If they could surprise them in the night then this whole thing would be done with and they could return home.

Only Finan and Berg had not returned and Uhtred was trying not to think the worst as he and his men rode hard and fast to catch up with the raiders.

“Lord!”

“What!” Uhtred snapped, slowing his horse slightly as Sihtric caught up to him.

“A rider!” Sihtric called across the distance between their horses.

Uhtred looked to where Sihtric was pointing, where a single rider was now emerging from a copse of trees on their right flank. He pulled on his horses’ reins to come to a stop and held a hand up to signal the rest of the men to halt.

Uhtred could not make out who it was, not yet, and in passing wished Finan were there, the Irishman’s eyes had always been sharper than his. Then he remembered why Finan was not there and his stomach sank again.

The rider was coming directly towards them at a gallop and finally Uhtred recognised him, it was Berg.

The Dane looked ragged and bloodied and Uhtred had to force himself to keep breathing as Berg approached.

“Lord, Lord Uhtred!” Berg gasped as he got close enough.

“What happened?” Uhtred demanded.

“They came from nowhere Lord! We were surrounded before we knew we had been spotted, Finan! They took Finan!”

“Alive?” Uhtred asked, barely able to hear himself over the buzzing in his ears.

“Yes lord, alive, I’m to tell you that they will meet you on the next hill to make a bargain, lord,” Berg explained in a rush.

Uhtred nodded, that meant he could still get Finan out of this.

“Sihtric, get one of the men to stay behind with Berg and make sure his wounds are tended to, we’ll head on to meet with the bastards,” Uhtred ordered.

“Lord, I would come with you,” Berg protested.

“No, you are injured, you stay here,” Uhtred spoke brusquely, quelling any further argument.

He did not wait to see if his commands were carried out, he rode on, expecting the men to follow.

He could feel where past grief and the threat of new grief met in his heart and the only way he could keep his thoughts straight was to let anger fold over the ache in chest.

He would make them pay.

The raiders were indeed on the next hill as promised, he guessed that there were maybe fifty or seventy of them and wished again for Finan’s sharp eyes. He had brought only forty men with him but Uhtred trusted that each of his men were worth two of the enemy.

Uhtred signalled for the men to halt again and gestured to Sihtric to follow him as he rode ahead to speak with the leader of the raiding party.

The leader wore white furs about his neck, Uhtred wanted to kill him the moment he saw him, he let the anger furl and grow under his breastbone.

“Lord Uhtred I believe,” the man greeted him once they were close enough, “my name is Torsten, it is an honour to meet you.”

Uhtred kept silent, he did not care what the man’s name was, only how he would kill him.

“I believe we must make a bargain Lord Uhtred,” Torsten barrelled on, ignoring the implied insult of Uhtred’s silence, “you allow us to return home and I shall release your Irishman, once we are at a safe distance of course.”

Uhtred tried to resist reacting but something must have shown on his face because Torsten was wearing an unbearably smug smile.

“Well? How do you answer?” Torsten goaded.

“I will answer with my sword in your guts,” Uhtred growled.

“Then we shall make sport of killing your man slowly, truthfully I shall be glad to see him dead, he has a foul mouth on him spitting his Irish curses.”

Sihtric snickered, of course Finan would not have gone silently.

“Or you release him now and most of your men will live,” Uhtred countered.

Torsten laughed, it was fake, meant only to provoke, Uhtred waited for him to be done.

“I do not think I will be releasing him just yet, lord.”

“And how am I to know you have not killed him already?” Uhtred asked.

“You are right of course,” Torsten inclined his head in acknowledgment, “Svend!” he yelled back to his men, “Bring Lord Uhtred’s man where he can see!”

Uhtred watched carefully as the raiders parted and a man was dragged forward by his bound hands, Finan.

“Leave me, lord, just kill the bastards!” Finan shouted, earning him a punch in the gut. Uhtred spurred his horse forward threateningly and Torsten held up a hand to stop his man from hurting Finan further.

“As you see, he is still alive,” Torsten continued, “and we are at an impasse. You have until nightfall to withdraw your men or we will kill the Irishman and then you.”

Uhtred watched carefully as Finan was dragged back out of sight, he spared Torsten a withering glance and turned to ride back to his men, Sihtric following.

~

Hours had passed and dusk was nearing. Uhtred had drawn his men back to the nearest tree-line whilst he thought how best to make his approach.

His men milled about, avoiding his gaze. Berg had now caught up with them and seemed to hover at the edge of Uhtred’s vision, wanting to be helpful but he and the rest knew better than to speak to Uhtred when he was in a temper, and Uhtred was definitely in a temper.

He paced up and down amongst the trees, any way he looked at it Finan would be at risk and he dare not, he could not lose his oldest companion. Their lives had become so deeply entrenched in each other’s that Uhtred feared the loss of Finan would be the loss of himself, his constancy, his sanity.

In a fit of rage Uhtred punched the nearest tree, letting the flare of pain clear the fog in his mind. He needed to plan as if it were not Finan’s life on the line and just another skirmish.

“Sihtric!”

“Yes Lord?”

“Gather the men, you are to draw back and loop round to attack from the rear, make sure you are not seen. I will give you time, when the sun begins to set I will distract them and you will launch the attack,” Uhtred ordered.

“Understood lord,” Sihtric agreed.

“And Sihtric?” Uhtred stopped him with a hand on his arm, “Let the men take care of the main attack, your priority is Finan, find him and release him.”

Sihtric nodded, stony-faced, Uhtred knew he was worried for his friend also.

He let Sihtric go and drew a shaky breath, all he could do now was wait.

“Osferth, Oswi, you will stay with me,” Uhtred called.

“Yes lord!” they echoed back.

Uhtred left the men to make their preparations and wandered back to the edge of the trees where he could keep an eye on Torsten and the raiders, they had not moved. Uhtred flexed his hand and focused on the sting where the tree bark had scraped his knuckles.

A moment later Osferth sidled up to him.

“Finan has been through worse lord, he will survive this also,” Osferth tried to reassure him.

“You believe so?” Uhtred asked softly, his anger waning now that there was a plan. Any number of things could still go wrong but it was enough to be doing something.

“I do lord,” Osferth affirmed.

Uhtred touched the hammer at his neck and prayed he was right.

~

The sun was setting. Uhtred mounted his horse and rode out to meet Torsten with Osferth and Oswi in tow.

The raiders stirred when they saw his approach and from the group Torsten emerged.

“Have you made your decision Lord Uhtred?” the Dane called to him.

“I have!” Uhtred shouted back, “You and I, fight me man to man and we shall see who is the victor!”

“And why would I agree to that when I have the advantage?” Torsten rebutted.

“To prove you are not a coward!” Uhtred snarled, Torsten was closer now and Uhtred drew Serpent-Breath, spurring his horse up and down in front of the raiders to draw their gaze.

“My men know that I am not a coward and that I am also not a fool,” Torsten answered.

“You’re a turd is what you are! I can smell the shit running down your legs from here!” Uhtred shouted, keeping Torsten’s attention fixed, “Fight me!”

Torsten looked to be about to reply when they heard it, the galloping of horses and a startled shout at the rear of the Dane’s ranks.

Uhtred took advantage of Torsten’s moment of surprise, blade swinging down as he rode his horse towards him.

Torsten drew his own blade just in time to knock Uhtred’s sword aside, swerving right as Uhtred pulled his horse round to strike again.

Chaos broke out, Osferth and Oswi rode to join the fight and Uhtred was distracted from Torsten by two raiders attacking from his left side. He cut down the first but was half pulled from his saddle by the second before he managed to strike a killing blow.

Uhtred dismounted and ducked an incoming axe, getting Serpent-Breath under the Dane’s guard to pierce his side. The battle rage was within him, fuelling him. He looked for Torsten and saw him a few paces away trying to rally his men into a defensible line but they were in complete disarray.

“Torsten!” Uhtred shouted, summoning the Dane to meet his blade, Uhtred howled as he charged at him. Torsten stumbled back under the force of the blow, his own sword barely rising to block it.

Uhtred hacked down again and as Torsten moved his blade to block Uhtred swung back with Serpent-Breath to slice open the side of the Dane’s thigh. Blood bloomed brightly and Uhtred continued to press his advantage.

He made quick work of it, it was messy, Uhtred too full of fury to pay attention to his sword-skill, moving on instinct alone. By the time Torsten was dead and dying at his feet his men had despatched the bulk of the raiders and those left were dropping their swords in surrender.

Uhtred looked across the field of dead men, breath caught in his throat until finally he saw Finan, sword in hand, laughing with Sihtric.

Uhtred exhaled and did not think what he would have done had Finan not survived.

He sheathed Serpent-Breath and organised the men to bind the hands of the remaining raiders and gather what could be of use from the corpses. A few of his men were wounded but none severely and it did not appear they had lost anyone, Uhtred sent a quick prayer of thanks to the gods for their favour.

~

Once the clean-up is done Finan finds him.

There is an easiness in the way that Finan folds into his embrace, steady and familiar.

Finan pokes at his ribs when they draw back.

“ _You_ were worried,” Finan teased, eyes warm with amusement.

“As if I’d waste the energy on your scrawny arse,” Uhtred scoffed.

But Uhtred was worried, he was, he was, he is.

Finan’s grin is as irreverent as ever but there is a caution to the way he moves that speaks to further injury than just the purple and yellow mottled bruises on the side of his face.

Uhtred realises he is clenching his fists when he feels the prick of nails on his palms and has to consciously force his body to relax.

“Are you fit to ride?” Uhtred asks.

“I can’t say it won’t hurt but I would rather be home sooner than later so I can manage,” Finan replied.

“We will go slowly,” Uhtred assures him, a hand pressed to Finan’s shoulder. Finan gives him a tired, grateful smile and Uhtred finds he wants to embrace him again, make sure that he is here and alive, but instead he lets go.

It is not long before the men are mounted, the captives trailing behind, and they are on the move.

Uhtred keeps to his word, they go slowly, and he tries not to glance at Finan riding by his side too often.

Now that the sun has set the sky darkens quickly and they only ride far enough to find a convenient place to make camp but even that seems to exhaust Finan. Uhtred shoots him a glance when he makes to try and help setting up camp and Finan sits back down with a self-effacing grin.

A fire is lit, food brought out from their packs and a watch set.

Uhtred keeps himself busy and by the time he pauses to rest, Finan has disappeared from where he left him by the fire.

“Sihtric, where did Finan go?” Uhtred asks, barely restraining the fresh curl of worry that ran through him.

“He turned in for the night, lord,” Sihtric answered, Uhtred nodded and went to look for his friend.

Uhtred picks his way over to where they had laid out the furs for their beds, some of the men were already sleeping but Uhtred could not see Finan. He began to circle the camp, worry growing.

Finally he found him, Finan sat propped up against a tree a little way away from the camp, struggling to lift his shirt.

Uhtred cleared his throat to announce his presence, Finan startled slightly but grinned when he saw him.

“Didn’t want to make a fuss,” Finan explained.

“You’re an idiot,” Uhtred snorted, he walked over and sat by Finan, “lean back.”

Finan complied easily and Uhtred lifted his shirt to assess the damage. There was further bruising and a gash on Finan’s right side, not too deep thankfully but Uhtred’s jaw clenched with renewed anger all the same.

“Did you bring any cloth?”

“Here,” Finan passed it to him.

Uhtred tore off a scrap and tried to wipe away the dried blood as gently as he could, Finan still hissed in pain above him. When the cut was as clean as Uhtred could make it he tossed the scrap of the cloth and unravelled the rest.

Slowly he pressed it against Finan’s side and reached around his waist to wrap it round and tie it off. This close he could feel the warmth of Finan’s body, the rise and fall of his chest. When he finally pulled back, job done, he tried not to think too closely on the cold that washed back over him.

“Next time just tell me,” Uhtred chided.

“I’m somewhat hoping there won’t be a next time,” Finan chuckled.

“As am I,” Uhtred responded darkly.

“Ah, you know there are no guarantees in this life,” Finan answered softly, knocking his shoulder against Uhtred’s.

“If I cannot protect you then how am I fit to protect anyone?” Uhtred growled.

“All due respect but it is usually you who needs protecting,” Finan laughed, dispelling Uhtred’s temper as he so often did. Uhtred rolled his eyes but smiled, unable to deny the truth of the statement.

“Do you want to return to camp?” Uhtred asked.

“A moment more, it still hurts to breathe.”

They settled into a companionable silence, Finan’s eyes slid shut and his breath eased slowly as Uhtred watched him.

Uhtred was wondering if Finan had more laugh-lines since he last looked at him so closely when Finan opened his eyes again.

“You’re staring, I’m not going anywhere you know,” Finan teased, “certainly not anywhere fast in this state.”

Normally Uhtred would crack a joke back, the moment would pass, they would return to camp and to their roles but there was still something raw and heavy burning a hole in his chest so he only sighed, tired of pretending.

“I almost lost you today,” Uhtred spoke finally.

“You didn’t,” Finan assured him.

Uhtred did not mind then that his breath came out shuddering and broken, he pulled Finan’s hand between his and let it ground him. Slowly he leaned forwards to press his forehead against Finan’s, Finan let him, watching him carefully.

“I have lost too much, I do not think I would survive losing you too,” Uhtred confessed.

“You won’t lose me, you’re stuck with me for life I’m afraid,” Finan promised him.

“There are no guarantees, remember?” Uhtred smiled wryly, he did not wait for an answer, he didn’t want to hear it, he closed the space between them and pressed his lips to Finan’s. He hovered there, letting Finan decide but Finan pressed back, sure and unwavering.

It was languid and warm and heady, need and urgency could come later, for now Uhtred wanted only this. This reassurance, this solace.

Uhtred curled a hand around the back of Finan’s neck and Finan shifted to lean into him and then pulled back with a hiss.

“Ow,” the Irishman huffed, Uhtred grimaced in sympathy.

“You should rest, we should both rest, come on I’ll take you back to camp,” Uhtred instructed, pulling Finan’s arm around his shoulders to help him up.

“If I knew what I’d be missing out on, I would have tried harder to get away before the bastards beat the shit out of me,” Finan grumbled, Uhtred laughed as he stood, lifting Finan to his feet with him.

“We have time yet,” Uhtred consoled him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A soft epilogue

‘We have time’ he’d said. Like a fool.

They had no time, it had been a week already and Uhtred hadn’t managed to get Finan alone _once._

With Finan laid up Uhtred had taken over his second-in-command’s share of duties, piled on top of his own duties as ealdorman Uhtred felt that he had spent the whole week chasing his own tail with nothing to show for it but a headache.

The boys were trying to pick up some of the slack where they could but Sihtric had his family to look after and Osferth, as well-intentioned as he was, had little to no idea of how to command household guards _or_ farmers.

In the end Uhtred had left Osferth with the ledgers and set Sihtric to running half-day drills with the men so he could still go home in the afternoons.

Uhtred was left with helping the field-workers to prepare for the harvest, checking supplies (both everyday and battle), hearing and settling local grievances, distributing grain, arguing with priests over taxes, corralling the children into the small school Hild had set up and on and on and on.

He saw Finan watching him sometimes, leaning against the nearest wall for support, a wry smile at his lips. More than once Uhtred went to join him and was pulled away before he could reach his destination.

He settled for what he hoped was a reassuring smile back but he couldn’t hide how tired he was.

Uhtred wasn’t daft, he knew Finan better than himself most days, and he knew that his companion was feeling guilty and frustrated at being knocked out of commission during one of the busiest times of the year for the estate.

Uhtred was tempted to give him a good thwack about the ear and tell him he was an idiot for getting himself tied up in knots over something that was out of his control but to do that Uhtred would actually need to get Finan alone. Which led him right back to square one because there just hadn’t been _time._

He’d tried waiting till the end of the day to see Finan, thinking by then he would be free of the demands of others and he and Finan could actually talk. Only, by night time if he sat down for more than two seconds he was dead to the world and the couple times he had managed to stay awake and gone to Finan’s house, it was Finan who was asleep.

Uhtred was nearing the end of his tether.

Granted, if the gods were good to them, they would have many years yet together but there was something in his gut telling him that if he didn’t speak with Finan soon then whatever it was he wanted to build with his friend would slip through his fingers. Forever a regret, an ‘almost’.

Though they may not know why, his men had noticed him getting increasingly short-tempered. By the ninth day Sihtric, Osferth and Hild staged an intervention.

A tenant had come to him with a complaint about a neighbour taking more than his share of grain and Uhtred had not so politely told him to fuck off. Not his proudest moment as an ealdorman and unfortunately Hild had overheard.

Within an hour his friends had banned him from all duties and essentially locked him up in his hall.

“Sleep, Uhtred,” Hild had told him, “if we need you for anything then it can wait till tomorrow,” she insisted.

“Fine,” Uhtred sighed, knowing that not only was there no point in arguing but also that he didn’t particularly want to. Hild and Sihtric left, Osferth behind them, pausing to pull the door closed.

“Osferth?” Uhtred called out.

“Yes Lord?”

“Can you ask Finan to come see me?”

“No work?” Osferth eyed him suspiciously.

“No work, I promise,” Uhtred smiled at him tiredly, he knew the boy worried.

Osferth agreed and left him.

Uhtred immediately slumped onto the nearest bench, tired and aching, but the next moment he was up again, filled with a sudden nervous energy.

Theoretically he wanted to see Finan, yes, but now that it was imminent his head was full of worry. Did Finan still feel the same way? They had barely ever gone so long without talking and now more than ever the time spent apart felt like a yawning chasm.

So much might have changed in their days apart, would Finan pull away from him? Would Uhtred let him? Or would he fight to keep him?

Fighting for Gisela had felt so straightforward, they had loved each other in a way that was inevitable and only Guthred and Aelfric’s schemes had kept them apart, schemes that were easily overcome with the help of Ragnar and judicious use of SerpentBreath.

With Finan he would be fighting against the expectations placed on the both of them and perhaps Finan himself if his friend had convinced himself that the pitfalls outweighed the benefits.

It was unfamiliar territory.

Uhtred paced up and down a few times and then slumped back onto the bench, head between his hands as he tried to get his thoughts in order. Desire usually made him confident, not nervous, Finan just had to be the damn exception to the rule.

The door creaked open and Uhtred’s head jerked up, he saw Finan’s silhouette first, framed in the afternoon light his brown hair looked almost golden. There was an ache in Uhtred’s chest suddenly, then Finan turned to meet his eyes and the ache deepened.

Was this really something he was allowed to have?

Finan closed the door behind him and stepped closer, Uhtred could see that he was still cautious in his movements and rose to meet him. He reached instinctively towards Finan’s midriff where he knew the deepest wound lay but dropped his hand to his side at the last moment, unsure if his concern would be welcome.

They looked at each other assessingly for a few heartbeats, Uhtred noting that the bruises on Finan’s face had mostly faded and Finan taking in the tired slump of Uhtred’s shoulders.

“You look like shit,” Finan grinned, breaking the silence.

“Shut up,” Uhtred retorted fondly.

“I’m s- “

“Shut up,” Uhtred said again, more forcefully.

“Uhtred,” Finan sighed, “You’ve been running yourself ragged, if I hadn’t let my guard down you wouldn’t have had to.”

“Just because some poxy Dane laid hands on you does not mean you get to feel guilty about it,” Uhtred insisted, “it could have happened to any of us, including me.”

Finan sighed again, as though he didn’t agree but also knew better than to argue. Uhtred decided he did not like the sound.

Uhtred was frustrated, but frustration at least _was_ familiar territory and it wiped away the hesitancy that had seemed to root him to the spot, close but not close enough.

Reaching to curl a hand around the back of Finan’s neck, Uhtred pulled him into a heated kiss. Finan grunted in surprise but didn’t pull back. If Finan wouldn’t listen to his words then Uhtred would at least make him hear his intent.

Uhtred had always been better with actions than words anyway.

Finan leaned into him and Uhtred breathed in the comfort of his warmth, feeling it spread through his tired limbs.

Finan pulled back first, a hand pressed against Uhtred’s chest.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Finan asked, Uhtred opened his mouth to protest but Finan barrelled on, “If it becomes a distraction in battle then I become a risk to you, I need to know that you have at least thought about that.”

Uhtred frowned, “I don’t care.”

Finan barked a laugh and drew his hand back to rub his forehead like he was trying to ease a decade old headache whose name was Uhtred.

“Fuck if you care you obstinate bastard, _I care_ ,” Finan grumbled.

“I still don’t care,” Uhtred teased.

“Jesus buggering Christ, you’re impossible,” Finan huffed.

“Look, I already watch for you in battle, we’ve been together too long for me to not care if you get hurt whether we’re fucking or not, and neither of us have died yet. If it comes between the vague possibility of one of us getting distracted in a fight and the reality of having something we both want then there’s no contest for me,” Uhtred argued.

Uhtred paused, thumb rubbing at the corner of Finan’s jaw.

“All I need to know is if it’s worth the risk for you as well,” Uhtred continued softly.

Finan groaned and sagged against Uhtred’s shoulder.

Uhtred grinned, knowing he had won.

“You drive a hard bargain,” Finan muttered into his neck. Uhtred was less concerned with the implied chastisement than he was with the shiver that went through him at the sensation of Finan’s breath on his skin.

He had not felt desire like it since Gisela. He wondered if it had always been there, tucked away in the deepest parts of him.

Finan lifted his head to meet his gaze and Uhtred attempted to school his expression into something less smug but by the look Finan gave him he presumed that he failed.

“Git,” Finan said with fond annoyance and then pulled him into another kiss. There was no hesitancy this time, Finan pressed against him with the greed of a starved man.

Uhtred was forced backwards by the urgency of it and by the time the back of his thighs pressed against the table he was undone. His head swum with the heat of it, Finan was curling his tongue around Uhtred’s one moment and dragging his teeth across his bottom lip the next.

He pulled away a second as if to admire his handiwork then grinned and pulled Uhtred back to him.

_Had it ever been like this?_

Uhtred found himself shuffling back onto the table, Finan moving with him to slot between his legs, he could feel Finan’s jaw working beneath his hand and it turned him on more than he cared to admit.

In the haze of his need Uhtred forgot for a moment what had brought them to this and grasped at Finan’s side, causing him to pull back with a hiss.

“Shit, sorry,” Uhtred apologised.

Finan grinned ruefully and pressed a hand to the wound that lay beneath his clothes.

“Forgiven,” Finan chuckled, “we might be a bit worse for wear to be doing this right now though.”

Uhtred glared at him, wanting to deny it but knowing he couldn’t.

“Alright, alright, don’t pout, Jesus,” Finan laughed and grabbed his hand, “Come on.”

Uhtred let himself be pulled to the stairs at the back of the hall, by the time they had reached his bed in the rafters Uhtred could feel his exhaustion returning to him, itching at the corners of his eyes.

Uhtred collapsed onto the bed almost immediately, kicking his boots off into the corner somewhere. He fell back on the furs, enjoying the softness and letting his eyes slip closed.

“Now that is a sight I could get used to,” Uhtred opened one eye to see Finan standing above him smiling.

“Couldn’t agree more,” Uhtred hummed.

“Shuffle over then,” Finan poked at his side.

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what?’, were you expecting me to just go home?” Finan scoffed.

Bemused but not complaining Uhtred shuffled over to make room, pulling the blankets and furs from under him to slip his legs underneath.

Finan slid in next to him and curled a hand around Uhtred’s stomach, careful to lean on his good side.

“Sleep, Uhtred, plenty of time for the rest later remember?” Finan promised.

Feeling more at ease than he had in months, Uhtred did as he was told and let sleep drag him under, knowing that Finan would still be there when he woke.

**Author's Note:**

> I've barely edited so apologies for any errors but there you have it, short and sweet. Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
